When The Present Meets The Past
by DemonLadySesshomaru
Summary: What happens when Kagome meets a certain romance novelist. Then they go on a special date and run into someone from her past.


When The Present Meets The Past

"Remember Mom, I'm going to be late getting home from school today. The music appreciate class I am taking is going over to the NG Studios for a tour. We have a interview set up with the members of Bad Luck. If I happen to see Ryu-chan is there anything you want me to tell him?

Kagome's mother smiled at her daughter. They never really talked about their famous cousin or imposed upon him. It was just something that polite society in Japan never did. In fact, they had only recently had the pleasaure of actually meeting him. That was a coincidence brought on by Kagome's college teacher. He was making the arrangements to bring the students in for the interview and the President of NG, Tohma Seguchi, insisted on having a list of all students coming over. That list was run by the manager of Bad Luck who had security check each one out. It was just a precaution, in case there were any protential problems they needed to know about.

When the name Higurashi popped up, security notified Ryuichi Sakama. He had told them that anyone with that name was to be brought to his attention immediately. Once he found Kagome, it was just a matter of a phone call to their home and he was in touch with family. Of course, Kagome's mother and grandfather were surprised that he was related. It was a long story, but family history wasn't his strong suit. All he knew was his mother died when he was small and his father remarried. He didn't even know her maiden name until a few years ago. Once he found out, he started a search, over Tohma's objection. He thought that once family would be found, they would want in on his fame and money. Ryuichi had promised to stop the search, but secretly had told security to keep looking anyway.

So, Kagome and her family secretly met Ryuichi a few weeks ago at their house. Everyone was so happy to meet him and he was so very happy to have family that he never knew existed. The only problem was that Tohma could never know they were related. And, they could never call him at the studio or on his cell phone, because Tohma had a way of knowing everything that ever happened with him. It was really weird like that. Still, Ryuichi promised to keep in touch with the family and they would find a way to get together from time to time. This would be perfect time to do just that.

"If you happen to run into Him, dear, you have to act very nonchalant. Remember, if Mr Seguchi finds out that you are related to him, it could cause Ryuichi problems. Still, if you do see him, and can get a few moments alone, tell him that he is welcome to come to with us to Sanno Matsuri"

Kagome knew all too well what her mother was reminding her of. "That's okay Mom, I will be very careful."

Kagome and her Junior college class met in the lobby of NG Studios at 10:00 am. Waiting here for them was Bad Luck's manager, Mr Claude Winchester, known to everyone as Mr K. He was a tall, blond man, not what you would normally expect to see at a Japanese business. "Welcome. I am Mr K. You can call me K. I will be taking you on your tour before we head to the interview with the members of Bad Luck. I must ask you all to please stay with the group and not wander off. Before we go, I need each of you to sign in and pick up your name badge that has been prepared for you."

After everyone had done as requested, they proceeded to follow K down a long hall. "This is our Security Office. I hope that none of you will have to find your way back down here later." He gives a robust laugh at that. "Of course I am just joking. Everyone here has already been screened and has been found to be an upstanding student at the university." They headed further down the hall to a set of elevators. They got in and were instructed to go to the top floor. Once there, they exited and as a group followed K to the end of the hall. "This is the Executive Wing. Mr Seguchi wanted to say a few words to you all."

As the group started to file into the waiting area outside Tohma Seguchi's office, Kagome heard someone go "Pssst." She turned around and there was Ryuichi. She inched to the back of the group and snuck into his office, which happened to be next to Tohma's.

"Hi Kagome. I heard your class was coming today. I just wanted to say hi." Ryuichi was all excited to see his cousin."

"Ryu-chan. We aren't supposed to be talking. What if Seguchi-san sees us?" Kagome was a little scared.

"Oh, I don't care. I will tell him that I wanted to know what all the people were here for. Anyway, I know you have to go, I just wanted to say hi." Ryu was still very hyper happy.

"Well, before I go, Mom wanted me to invite you to come with the family to Sanno Matsuri."

Ryuichi almost jumped in Kagome's arms he was so happy. "Ok, I'll be there.. He ran to his desk and handed her a piece of paper. "This is a special cell phone I got just for talking to your family. Call me and tell me where and when to meet you."

Suddenly Mr K appeared in the doorway. "Do we have a straggler behind?"

Kagome turned several shades of red. Ryuichi looked at his former manager. "K, I..." is all he got out before K whispered, "I know, but she has to get with the program Ryuichi. She has to go now."

Ryuichi gave the OK sign with his fingers and Kagome was hustled out the door. "Remember, you don't know Sakuma-san Miss Higurahi. Don't blow your cover."

Kagome stopped and looked at K. He knew everything and was covering for them. She felt relieved and quickly pulled herself together. The two joined the rest of the group just as they were entering Tohma's office.

The meeting with Tohma went smoothly and then it was a quick tour of the rest of the building and off to meet and interview Bad Luck.

The students had all prepared a list of three questions to ask each of the members of the group. It was better that way so they could remain orderly and keep the interviews to a set time frame. After the eighteenth student had asked his second question, the door to the interview room opened and someone came in. All eyes turned to see who had come in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I early?" There, in the doorway stood a tall, blond, gorgeous man. Kagome took one look at him and recognized him immediately.

"Yuki, you're early. I said 1:00. It's only 12:45. We still have fifteen minutes." Bad Luck's lShuichi Shindou chimed.

"Oh, sorry, I'll just wait in the hallway."

Kagome couldn't take her eyes off the man. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. So, that was the famous Eiri Yuki, romance novelist and Shuichi Shindou's love interest. She was instantly jealous.

The rest of the interview was a blur to her. All she could think about was the site of Eiri Yuki.

After the interview was over, the class was done for the day and everyone was free to go home. Some of the people stuck around and chatted with the members of Bad Luck. Shuichi Shindou apparently had already made plans to leave after the interview and almost ran over some the the students on his way out to be with his Yuki. Kagome stood in the hall watching as the two walked to the elevator. Yuki was calm and cool, while Shuichi was bubbly and chatty, the complete opposite. She wondered how those two actually meshed as a couple.

Kagome was leaving the building alone to go home after the tour and interview. She had her notes to write her paper on the experience, but all she could think about was the last few minutes. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and ran right into Ryuichi who was walking in the opposite direction with his keyboardist and fellow Nittle Grasper, Noriko Ukai. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"That's okay. Are you alright? You don't look so good, Kagome."

"Kagome? Ryu-chan, you know this absent-minded girl?" Noriko inquired

Ryuichi and Kagome just stared at each other in shock. He just let someone know they knew one another. Oh-No! Kagome was about to say something when Noriko got the hint. "Why don't you two come to my office." And they did. It took about half a minute of Ryuichi's infamous sparkly chatter for Noriko to get the idea of what was going on. "So let me get this straight. You two are family, Tohma doesn't know and cannot know., right?"

Kagome nodded.

"Well then, welcome to the family, Kagome-kun. And don't worry, I don't tell Tohma any of the stuff that Ryu-chan does. It would only give Tohma a headache." She turned to Ryuichi. "And shame on you for not telling me. You know I keep all your secrets." Then she looked back at Kagome who still looked like she was in space somewhere. "You got something bad, so who is it?

Kagome looked up at her."Huh? Got what bad?"

Ryuichi could see it immediately also. "She's smitten alright. She's fallen for someone. So who is it, Kagome-kun?

"It doesn't matter, he's already spoken for."

"Oh, that's the worst kind. Still, you have to tell us. Maybe we can help, you never know." Ryuichi added.

"Not this time, Ryu-chan. It's Eiri Yuki. He's Shuichi Shindou's boyfriend. See, it's hopeless."

Just then, a voice came from behind them. Who said I'm his boyfriend?"

Kagome turned around and the object of her affection was standing in the doorway.

"You know, if you want to have this kind of conversation, you really should close the door. Anyone walking by could hear what you are saying. So, if you have it that bad for me, at least have the decency to introduce yourself to me." Eiri said, in his cool, calm and very sensual voice.

For the second time in the last ten minutes, Kagome was speechless. Noriko jumped up, grabbed Eiri by the arm, pulled him into her office and closed the door. "Damn you Eiri, if Tohma sees you he will drag you off to his office. If he sees Kagome he will start asking all kinds of questions we don't want asked."

Eiri came in and casually sat down in a chair. "So I guess I will start the introductions. I am Eiri Uesugi, but everyone calls me Yuki, by my pen name. And you are?"

Ryuichi decided, being a proper Japanese gentleman to do the introductions. "Eiri, this is Kagome Higurashi. "

The flush finally drained from her face, Kagome turned to face Eiri. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I..."

"Don't worry Miss Higurashi, I've gotten used to it. It is a bit unusual though that Noriko and Ryuichi have taken such good care of you in this matter. So what's the deal?"

It is well known that Eiri Yuki is Tohma Seguchi's brother-in-law and Kagome was afraid that if he found out about her relationship to Ryuichi, things could get very bad very quickly. She started to think of something, anything, when Noriko responded. "Eiri, Tohma cannot know anything. I mean anything. If he does, Kagome and Ryuichi are in big trouble. B I G trouble."

Eiri was intrigued. Was Ryuichi and this girl having an affair? No wait, Ryuichi was living with his younger brother, much to Tohma's hatred. That wasn't it. "So, what's the deal? You know that if it is going to get you in Dutch with Tohma I won't blow your cover."

Noriko realized she should have known better. "Sorry Eiri. As you know, Ryu's been searching a long time for any family he might have. Well, Security did background checks on all the students coming today and found out that Kagome's family and Ryuichi's mother- real mother- were related. Kagome is his cousin. They met a couple of weeks ago. Tohma didn't want Ryu to find any relatives because he was afraid they would go after his money. You know Tohma."

"And Kagome's family doesn't want his money?"

"No! They just want me to be family. Isn't it great Eiri? They like me coming over for dinner and going to festivals with them and just being family." Ryuichi started bubbling again.

"Slow it down, bunny-boy. You want my brother-in-law to hear you? Geesh, Kagome, did you really want that in your family?"

Kagome started giggling. That broke the tension. "Ryu-chan is funny. We love having him come around. And we don't care about his money, we just love family."

"Well, I pity you that one." Eiri said under his breath.

Kagome looked at her watch. It was getting late. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take up everyone's time, but I need to get back. Grandpa needs me to help in the shrine tonite."

"Shrine? Your grandfather is a monk?" Eiri couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could there be any families that didn't have monks in them?

"Yes, he's quite strong..." Oops, she almost let it slip about some of the things that happened in the past and that wouldn't be too good. "He is a very good monk. A lot of people have come to the family shrine for centuries. Anyway if I don't leave right now, I won't get there in time to help him."

Eiri sighed. "Look, since I'm the reason you're late, I think it's only fair that I drive you home."

"That's an excellent idea Eiri, why don't you do that. Kagome, you go with Eiri." Noriko suggested

"Then it's settled. Come on Kagome, my car's in the garage out back."

As the started walking out the door, Kagome stopped. "What happened to Shindou-san? I thought you two were leaving together?"

"Oh Shuichi? He decided to hang out with Hiro and Fujisaki instead. I'm free all evening. So, shall we go?"

The two made their way to the garage and got into Eiri's BMW. The drive to Kagome's house was silent for the most part, with the only real conversation being directions to her house. They pulled up and Kagome was about to get out and leave when Eiri asked if he could see the shrine. Kagome wasn't about to deny him that, so he parked the car and accompanied her up the stairs.

"Mom, Grandpa, I'm home."

"We're in here honey." Mom chimed.

"I brought a guest, I hope you don't mind." Kagome said.

Sota, Kagome's brother looked out his bedroom door to see the guest. "Hey Kagome, who's your new boyfriend?"

Eiri smiled at the young man. "The name's Eiri. And who are you?"

"Sota, and you better treat her better than her last boyfriend or I'll beat the crap out of you!"

"Sota!" Kagome yelled. "I'm so sorry Eiri, he's a little headstrong."

Eiri smiled. "It's okay. I seem to remember saying the same thing about my sister's boyfriends a couple of times and she almost bit my head off too."

The two walked into the kitchen. "Mom, Grandpa, I'd like you to meet Eiri Uesugi."

"Mrs Higurashi, Sir. Thank you for letting me come today."

Kagome's mom turned around and almost fainted. "Eiri Uesugi? You're Eiri Yuki the author, aren't you?  
I have read some of your novels. Welcome."

Grandpa looked at him. "Ah so this is the young writer you have talked about daughter. Yes, he is quite the good looking man. Tell me, is it true you are also a monk?" Grandpa always approved of any man that was a monk.

Eiri rolled his eyes. "I was raised in the family shrine in Kyoto. My father taught my brother and myself to be monks. My brother is a practicing monk, I don't really do much of that anymore."

"Um, I see. Still, you are quite welcome. Kagome, I approve of him."

Kagome started blushing again.

Eiri put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, but not too close. "It's okay, I'm not offended and you shouldn't be embarrassed. How about we just play along and have a good time."

She didn't want to admit it, but she really did like the feeling of having Eiri holding her. So, she gave a little shrug of approval and all was well.

Dinner was had a little while later and evening prayers were held in the shrine. Kagome and Eiri finally got to a point where neither of them were uncomfortable talking to one another. They actually found that they liked talking about anything that didn't have to do with music, writing or shrines.

The one thing that Eiri made clear was that he and Shuichi were not living together. Yes, they were seeing one another, but at the present time, with Bad Luck's rigorous recording and concert schedule, they decided that a commited relationship was not feasible. If Kagome wanted to verify that with Shuichi, Eiri had no qualms about her doing so and even offered her is cell phone number, which she declined. That pleased Eiri, although he didn't say so or outwardly show it.

Right before leaving, Eiri asked Kagome if it would be olay to call her and maybe take her out to dinner sometime. She agreed and made sure he had her cell number. A kiss on the cheek was his final act before walking down the stairs to his car.

A week passed before Kagome's cell phone rang and an unfamiliar number popped up. She answered and it was Eiri. He wanted to know if she would like to go to dinner this coming Friday. Of course, she said yes. After making the arrangements, they hung up.

Friday night came and Kagome was dressed for her dinner with Eiri. He was taking her to Dazzle, one of the best restaurants in all of Japan. She had never had French cooking before, but she loved to eat, and with her vast experiences (both in the feudal and modern eras), she was looking forward to this night.

Eiri arrived exactly at 7:30. He was punctual, to say the least. He arrived with flowers for Kagome's mother, a bottle of sake for Grandpa, a month's supply of Pocky for Sota (yes, seems all young men love Strawberry Pocky) and a csingle orchid orsage for Kagome. How he knew what color dress she would be wearing was a mystery, but the corsage was perfect. The pair left and on the way to the restaurant talked a little with the sounds of Michihiro Kuroda singing in the background. All in all, a much better drive than the first time Kagome was in Eiri's car.

Dinner was splendid. Eiri did the ordering for them both. Starters were Oysters on the half shell. For the appetizer, zucchini flowers, burrata with anchovie/garlic vinaigrette. For the main course, he kept it still on the lighter side, roasted sea bass fillet, mussels, green peas, spumante-cream sauce..And for dessert, just for Eiri strawberry meringue. The pair felt very relaxed with one another and as the evening wore on, they got more and more comfortable being together.

When dinner was done, Eiri asked Kagome what she wanted to do. It was only 9:30, so it wasn't too late. He offered to take her home, or they could go somewhere else. The choice was hers. She said, "I'd like to show you something back at my place."

Eiri was game, so they went back to the Higurashi shrine. After parking the car, they climbed the stairs but didn't go into the house. Instead, they went to the well house out back. Kagome opened the door and grabbed a flashlight which hung just inside. It lit the small room and revealed the family secret, the well of souls. "You know that Grandpa is a monk, but what you don't know is that I am a miko. I didn't even know that until about five years ago.. She proceeded to tell Eiri about the night she lost her balance and fell down the well – the first time."

"Wait, you're telling me that you're the reincarnation of a feudal miko. This well is a portal to the past and you can come and go as you please?" Eiri was a little skeptical to say the least.

"I know it sounds far out there, but, if you give me five minutes, I can prove it." Kagome ran into the house, changed her clothes into something a bit more appropriate for traveling back to the feudal era and returned. "I think it would be best for you to take off the jacket and tie. Those won't go too well in feudal Japan. She then handed him a yakata. Here, put this on.

Deciding to play her little game, Eiri took off his jacket and tie, and put on the yukata. "Okay, now what."

Kagome stepped up on the top well ledge and put out her hand. "Come on, up here." Eiri stepped up next to her and held her hand. "All you have to do is jump with me."

That well was about fifteen feet deep, but at least there were not rocks or sharp objects in the bottom. The worst that would happen is they would both sprain their ankles or maybe break them. Well, Eiri could use a good rest, so ok. "You going to count to three or something?"

"One three then, One...two...three" and they jumped.

Eiri expected to land in the bottom of the well with a thud, but what he didn't expect was him landing without getting hurt. And when he looked up there was sky and sunshine above him.

"Come on Eiri, the ladder's right here." Kagome was already climbing up.

As he followed, Eiri was shocked to see a field of grass, trees and spring flowers. There were no buildings, no roads, no traffic. There was nothing but... "What in hell are you?"

"Hey, who are you calling a 'you'? Kagome, who is this guy anyway?"

That all too familiar voice caused Kagome to turn around quickly. "InuYasha! Hi. I didn't expect to see you here today."

"Well, who did you expect to see? It sure wasn't my good for nothing half-brother was it?"

"You were saying, InuYasha?" A baritoned voice from behind asked

Kagome walked between the two demon brothers and enthusiastically said, "Sesshomaru, how nice to see you again. I was just going to introduce my friend to InuYasha, so I can introduce him to you too."

Turning she put out her hand to Eiri. "Eiri, this (motioning to the younger brother) is my good friend, InuYasha. And this, (motioning to the older) is his brother, Lord Sesshomaru. Boys, this is Eiri, he's a friend of mine ."

"Since when do you just bring strangers through the well, young miko?" Sesshomaru inquired. "It is now safe to bring just anyone."

"Eiri is not just anyone, he's a monk. You know the well will not allow me to bring someone that is not worthy to come." She looked at the demon lord. "Besides, we don't have to worry about Naraku anymore and there haven't been any demon attacks in a long time. If there were, you would have sent InuYasha to get me, right?"

Sesshomaru didn't respond, just glared at Kagome. He would never admit to a human that he was ever mistaken about anything, even in the least little bit. Inuyasha was about to say something when that glare was transferred to him and he quickly decided to not speak after all. Deciding that being in the company of one human is bad enough, but two is intolerable, Sesshomaru turned and walked away.

"Pleasant guy. One thing I do like about him is his eyes, though. Those golden eyes, nice." Eiri quipped. "So, Kagome, why'd you bring me here? You want me to meet your friends or what?"

InuYasha asked too, "Yeah, why'd you bring him here?" It sounded more like a jealous boyfriend asking than just inquisitiveness.

At first Kagome had thought she was just bringing Eiri there to show him what the well was all about. She wanted to share something of herself with him. Now though, she wasn't so sure. She really liked Eiri, or so she thought. But being back here, she was torn. It had been a few years since she had been here. In those years she had not had any contact with InuYasha. He had the ability to come through the well to her time, but he never did it. Now, his reaction to her bringing Eiri here made her wonder. Why was he so upset that she brought him and why was she starting to care about his feelings?

InuYasha was staring at Eiri, and not in a friendly sort of way. He kept sizing him up, then started walking around him, looking up and down. "So, how long have you and Kagome been going together? What are your intentions toward her? Do her mother and brother approve of you?" The questions started getting more personal.

At first, Eiri tried to ignore him, but the more the questions got personal, and the tone got invasive, the less Eiri liked them. Finally, he had about enough. "Listen mister, you have something you want to say, just come out and say it. I don't have time or patience to waste with little boys."

InuYasha was far from a little boy and he was about to show Eiri just how not little or boyish he was when Kagome stepped in. "Okay, that's quite enough from both of you. InuYasha, I thought you told me a long, long tme ago that you didn't want a relationship. So, unless something has changed since then, would you kindly butt out of here." Then she turned her back on him and spoke to Eiri in a much nicer tone. "I am so sorry about this. "InuYasha is a bit headstrong. He and I used to spend a lot of time together here, and well, we ended things several years ago. I have moved on, but I guess _someone _has decided to change his mind. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Let's just go back."

Actually, Eiri was enjoying this little repartee between InuYasha and Kagome. "No problem Kagome." Eiri moved closer and put his arm around her shoulder. I would love to see more of this time period. Why don't we do some exploring." As guided her away from the well, he shot a glare at InuYasha that only said 'Eiri one, InuYasha go to hell.'

The couple moved through the countryside until they came upon a familiar village. Well, the village was familiar to Kagome, not Eiri. A young lady, about thirteen came running up to her. "Kagome-sama you're back!"

"Rin-chan? Is that you? My how you have matured into a lovely young woman." Kagome was in awe of the raven-haired teenager. "Eiri, this is Sesshomaru's daughter, Rin."

Eiri looked at the dark-haired girl and saw no resemblance whatsoever to Sesshomaru or InuYasha. The eyes, body, nothing. He was going to say something when Kagome caught the expression on his face.

"Sesshomaru adopted Rin when she was orphaned. She stays here in the village with Kaede while he is off doing business." She left it at that.

"Business huh? What kind of business does someone like Sesshomaru do in this era?"

"Father is Lord of the Western Lands. He has to keep the peace, fight other demons and do whatever he wants. He's very busy." Rin piped as a proud daughter would.

"That's quite enough Rin." A stern voice came from behind them. Sesshomaru had followed the pair to the village. He decided to investigate this monk further, away from his brother. There was something he didn't find too distasteful, even if he was human. Perhaps it was the way he stood up to InuYasha. "So you decided to stay. Kagome, be wary of InuYasha. He still harbors misguided emotions for you. And you Eiri, you are not from this time, you will find that being a monk will be convenient. I hope you have studied well."

Soon enough, InuYasha showed up. "Hey, whatcha doing here? This is my home. Whatdya bring him here for Kagome?" InuYasha was not a happy camper. He butted in between Kagome and almost knocked Eiri over as he got nose to nose with his former girlfriend. "I thought when you went back home you said we were through and you never wanted to see me again. So how come you are not only back in this time but back in my village, huh? Couldn't stay away from me, huh?"

It was quite obvious to Eiri that someone or maybe two someones were not over their prior relationship. He was beginning to wonder just why Kagome did bring him here. Not being one to be pushed aside so easily, and hell no, he wasn't going to be dumped by some college kid for the likes of InuYasha, he got into the foray. He marched right up, pushed InuYasha back. "Listen bud, no one pushes me around. Kagome is MY date. She is here with ME. Now, this may be the village where you live, but I didn't see your name on the sign stating 'InuYasha's Village' so back off."

Kagome stared in shock. Was Eiri fighting for her? No one, other than Sesshomaru ever stood up to InuYasha like this. It really wasn't her intention to run into InuYasha, she just wanted to show Eiri something special. She didn't want him getting hurt, and InuYasha was more than capable of hurting Eiri. She needed to stop this before it got any worse. "Um guys, Kaede has a rule, no fighting in the village. So, will you both just back off. InuYasha, we are through. I didn't want to see you, honest. I just wanted to bring Eiri through the well and show him this place, that's all. Really."

The standoff continued. The two were just staring each other down, seeing who would blink first. Kagome was getting scared. Finally, she looked to the only one she knew could help. "Sesshomaru, please. Stop this."

The demon lord huffed a sigh. Why was it that when humans and his brother were together, it always ended this way. As he had done on numerous occasions, Sesshomaru walked over and coldcocked this little brother. When the younger demon hit the ground, it was the humans chance to get away. "I suggest you leave before he wakes up because he will be extremely upset."

Neither of them needed to be told twice, they turned and walked quickly out of the village and back toward the well, Kagome waving her goodbyes to Rin and Sesshomaru. Once at the well, the reverse of how they got there was used to return to the twenty first century. The pair climbed up the ladder and out the well shed, and back to nighttime.

It was around midnight when they returned. It had been quite an exciting and different date for the pair.

Surprisingly, neither was tired. The adrenaline was still pumping from their encounter with InuYasha. Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, and Eiri had no desire to sleep yet. Everyone in the house had already gone to bed, so Kagome invited Eiri inside for some coffee and to unwind.

They were sitting in the kitchen at the table, talking quietly, talking about their adventure. All in all, it was fun but they decided that it was one they didn't want to go on again.

Kagome was thinking to herself that she really liked Eiri. When Eiri stood up to InuYasha, she felt to loved and appreciated. It was something that she never really felt with InuYasha.

Eiri started thinking that when InuYasha was ragging on Kagome, he couldn't stand to see her being mistreated like that. He never felt that way about another woman before. He wanted to protect her, to take care of her. He really liked her.

Suddenly, they looked at each other and it was as if they were struck by some love bug. Eiri got up from his chair and walked over to Kagome. He took her by the hand and helped her up then bent down and gave her a kiss. Not a deep, passionate kiss, but a sweet, loving one which she returned. The broke the kiss and just stood there staring at each other for a few moments. Time stood still for them. Was this their time, were they falling in love?

Then two cell phones rang. Kagome's ringtone was Sleepless Beauty. It was Ryuichi calling. Eiri's was Blind Game Again. Shuichi was calling. Each looked at their phones and realized that karma's a bitch. Someone somewhere was telling them that it just wasn't the right time.

They each answered their phones. Kagome told Ryuichi how she had a great time on her date; while Eiri was being told how much he was missed by Shuichi.

When their calls ended, the mismatched couple started laughing. They agreed that they had a great time but that perhaps being friends was good enough for now..

Eiri confessed that he really did miss his pink haired moppet and maybe he needed to rethink their relationship. The next concert just happened to be in his hometown of Kyoto and if he left first thing in the morning, he could surprise Shuichi and join them there that night. So he bid Kagome good night, promising to stay in touch.

Kagome was happy with the resolution of their date and content that she had made a real friend of Eiri. She cleaned the coffee mugs and was about to go to bed when she heard the screen behind her open. She turned and there stood a certain half demon.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." What are you doing here, InuYasha?

"I came to apologize. We need to talk."

Kagome got out the two clean mugs, poured some more coffee and the two sat down. "So what did you want to talk about? I thought you said quite a bit a little while ago."

"Yeah, well, um, I was mad. You brought that Eiri guy to our time and I got steamed. I had a long talk with my brother after to left and he made me realize that I'm not over you. I never was and I never will be." InuYasha stared at the moonlight shining through the window down into his coffee and the way it made little swirls sparkle. "Kagome, do you still love me at all?"

There was silence for a long, long moment, then "I never stopped loving you. Do you realize you never actually said you love me? I assumed you did, but you never said it, that's why I said I had to break it off with you. I waited so long, but you just could never say it. A girl needs to hear it, just once."

InuYasha looked up. "I never told you I love you? Sure I did." He thought back to the times they were together. It was like a whirlwind, but he realized, no, he never did. She told him, but yeah, all he ever said was 'me too.' "Gosh, Kagome, I'm a jerk. I had you there. I put you through so much, I loved you then, never wanted you to leave and all I had to do was say it?"

"Yeah. And it seems you still can't." She got, up, put her mug in the sink and started to walk out.

"Don't walk away. I can't lose you again." He was pleading.

She stopped. "You know what you have to do."

InuYasha stood up, put his mug in the sink. He walked over to Kagome and turned her around to see her face. The moonlight created a halo around her. She was so beautiful. "Kagome Higurashi. I love you." Finally, after all those years in the feudal era, it took him coming 600 years to the future to tell her he loved her.

Kagome hugged InuYasha. As the two of them walked off to her room to make their reunion complete, Kagome thought to herself. 'This has been the best date night ever!'


End file.
